Corporate brand identity management in a technological faculty – how brand relationships influence students and companies reputations

Identity is traditionally defined as an emission concept [1]. Yet, some research points out that there are external factors that can influence it [2]; [3]; [4]. This subject is even more relevant if one considers corporate brands. According to Aaker [5] the number, the power and the credibility of corporate associations are bigger in the case of corporate brands. Literature recognizes the influence of relationships between companies in identity management. Yet, given the increasingly important role of corporate brands, it is surprising that to date no attempt to evaluate that influence has been made in the management of corporate brand identity. Also Keller and Lehman [6] highlight relationships and costumer experience as two areas requiring more investigation. In line with this, the authors intend to develop an empirical research in order to evaluate the influence of relationships between brands in the identity of corporate brand from an internal perspective by interviewing internal stakeholders (brand managers and internal clients). This paper is organized by main contents: theoretical background, research methodology, data analysis and conclusions and finally cues to future investigation.

From Customer to Stakeholder Management: Quality Managers perceptions of Sustainability and Social Responsibility concepts, motivations and impacts

57Th EOQ Congress, Quality Renaissance - Co-creating a Viable Future"

A new model for EEZ surveillance and management in Portugal

Management Information Systems 2000, p. 103-111

Strategic Drivers for Implementing Sustainability Programs in Portuguese Organizations– Let’s Listen to Aristotle: From Triple to Quadruple Bottom Line

This article describes a study that investigated the main strategic drivers that influence the implementation of sustainability/social responsibility programs. An online survey was administered to managers of Portuguese organizations with certified management systems. The findings suggest that the implementation of such programs is mainly correlated to: 1.) the approach to understanding and working toward the satisfaction of the community’s needs (in the broad sense of social responsibility); 2.) how systematically sustainability within the organization is identified and managed (e.g., pollution prevention, improved environmental performance, and compliance with the applicable environmental laws); and 3.) the degree to which the organization tries to understand the needs of the employees and works toward satisfying them. In addition to the survey, five interviews with top managers of the surveyed organizations provided some useful insights. There was no consensus on the meaning of sustainability and social responsibility: some described it as an instrumental approach for obtaining better organizational results, while others regarded it as the right thing to do (i.e., it is values driven). In all cases, however, the managers supported a kind of umbrella construct under which different size corporations use different models (for example, the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI), Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), ISO 14001 environmental management systems), although some managers reported that they simply do not know what to do. All of those surveyed agreed that the lack of a systematic approach could represent a major threat to their organization, making them willing to pay more attention and take more action on the issue of sustainability. An additional suggestion made by managers was to change from a triple bottom line (economic dimension, environmental dimension, social equity dimension) to a quadruple bottom line by adding another dimension: personal and family happiness. This fourth dimension was recognized by the Greek philosopher/thinker Aristotle (384-322 BCE) who thought of happiness as the highest good (virtue) and ultimate goal and purpose of life, achieved through living well, in harmony. Such harmony suggests a balance and a lack of excess—in other words a sustainable existence.

A learning environment for robotic production line simulation

This paper presents a framework for a robotic production line simulation learning environment using Autonomous Ground Vehicles (AGV). An eLearning platform is used as interface with the simulator. The objective is to introduce students to the production robotics area using a familiar tool, an eLearning platform, and a framework that simulates a production line using AGVs. This framework allows students to learn about robotics but also about several areas of industrial management engineering without requiring an extensive prior knowledge on the robotics area. The robotic production line simulation learning environment simulates a production environment using AGVs to transport materials to and from the production line. The simulator allows students to validate the AGV dynamics and provides information about the whole materials supplying system which includes: supply times, route optimization and inventory management. The students are required to address several topics such as: sensors, actuators, controllers and an high level management and optimization software. This simulator was developed with a known open source tool from robotics community: Player/Stage. This tool was extended with several add-ons so that students can be able to interact with a complex simulation environment. These add-ons include an abstraction communication layer that performs events provided by the database server which is programmed by the students. An eLearning platform is used as interface between the students and the simulator. The students can visualize the effects of their instructions/programming in the simulator that they can access via the eLearning platform. The proposed framework aims to allow students from different backgrounds to fully experience robotics in practice by suppressing the huge gap between theory and practice that exists in robotics. Using an eLearning platform eliminates installation problems that can occur from different computers software distribution and makes the simulator accessible by all students at school and at home.

Autonomous guided vehicles applied to industrial engineering and management studies

This article presents a framework to an Industrial Engineering and Management Science course from School of Management and Industrial Studies using Autonomous Ground Vehicles (AGV) to supply materials to a production line as an experimental setup for the students to acquire knowledge in the production robotics area. The students must be capable to understand and put into good use several concepts that will be of utmost importance in their professional life such as critical decisions regarding the study, development and implementation of a production line. The main focus is a production line using AGVs, where the students are required to address several topics such as: sensors actuators, controllers and an high level management and optimization software. The presented framework brings to the robotics teaching community methodologies that allow students from different backgrounds, that normally don’t experiment with the robotics concepts in practice due to the big gap between theory and practice, to go straight to ”making” robotics. Our aim was to suppress the minimum start point level thus allowing any student to fully experience robotics with little background knowledge.

Management consulting labs: Project TAP

A Work Project, presented as part of the requirements for the Award of a Masters Degree in Management from the NOVA – School of Business and Economics

High or low initial setting price?: Initial setting price as prediction of intention to bid in on line auctions

A Work Project, presented as part of the requirements for the Award of a Masters Degree in Management from the NOVA – School of Business and Economics

The use of analytical hierarchy process in spatial decision support system for land use management

Geographic information systems give us the possibility to analyze, produce, and edit geographic information. Furthermore, these systems fall short on the analysis and support of complex spatial problems. Therefore, when a spatial problem, like land use management, requires a multi-criteria perspective, multi-criteria decision analysis is placed into spatial decision support systems. The analytic hierarchy process is one of many multi-criteria decision analysis methods that can be used to support these complex problems. Using its capabilities we try to develop a spatial decision support system, to help land use management. Land use management can undertake a broad spectrum of spatial decision problems. The developed decision support system had to accept as input, various formats and types of data, raster or vector format, and the vector could be polygon line or point type. The support system was designed to perform its analysis for the Zambezi river Valley in Mozambique, the study area. The possible solutions for the emerging problems had to cover the entire region. This required the system to process large sets of data, and constantly adjust to new problems’ needs. The developed decision support system, is able to process thousands of alternatives using the analytical hierarchy process, and produce an output suitability map for the problems faced.

Management consulting lab- Galp social media

This study consists of the reflection on a consultancy project developed by four students and one project manager from NOVA SBE. In attempting to assist Galp Energia structure the operationalization of an entry into Social Media, we were confronted with first-time challenges in real-life highly demanding workplace situations. The following considerations attempt to defuse the problem-solving mindset of the practical experience from the methodological development and learning experience extracted from the consulting line of work

Integrated management systems as complex adaptive systems

It is a difficult task to avoid the “smart systems” topic when discussing smart prevention and, similarly, it is a difficult task to address smart systems without focusing their ability to learn. Following the same line of thought, in the current reality, it seems a Herculean task (or an irreparable omission) to approach the topic of certified occupational health and safety management systems (OHSMS) without discussing the integrated management systems (IMSs). The available data suggest that seldom are the OHSMS operating as the single management system (MS) in a company so, any statement concerning OHSMS should mainly be interpreted from an integrated perspective. A major distinction between generic systems can be drawn between those that learn, i.e., those systems that have “memory” and those that have not. These former systems are often depicted as adaptive since they take into account past events to deal with novel, similar and future events modifying their structure to enable success in its environment. Often, these systems, present a nonlinear behavior and a huge uncertainty related to the forecasting of some events. This paper seeks to portray, for the first time as we were able to find out, the IMSs as complex adaptive systems (CASs) by listing their properties and dissecting the features that enable them to evolve and self-organize in order to, holistically, fulfil the requirements from different stakeholders and thus thrive by assuring the successful sustainability of a company. Based on the revision of literature carried out, this is the first time that IMSs are pointed out as CASs which may develop fruitful synergies both for the MSs and for CASs communities. By performing a thorough revision of literature and based on some concepts embedded in the “DNA” of the subsystems implementation standards it is intended, specifically, to identify, determine and discuss the properties of a generic IMS that should be considered to classify it as a CAS.

Project management under uncertainty: a study on solution methods

Project Management involves onetime endeavors that demand for getting it right the first time. On the other hand, project scheduling, being one of the most modeled project management process stages, still faces a wide gap from theory to practice. Demanding computational models and their consequent call for simplification, divert the implementation of such models in project management tools from the actual day to day project management process. Special focus is being made to the robustness of the generated project schedules facing the omnipresence of uncertainty. An "easy" way out is to add, more or less cleverly calculated, time buffers that always result in project duration increase and correspondingly, in cost. A better approach to deal with uncertainty seems to be to explore slack that might be present in a given project schedule, a fortiori when a non-optimal schedule is used. The combination of such approach to recent advances in modeling resource allocation and scheduling techniques to cope with the increasing flexibility in resources, as can be expressed in "Flexible Resource Constraint Project Scheduling Problem" (FRCPSP) formulations, should be a promising line of research to generate more adequate project management tools. In reality, this approach has been frequently used, by project managers in an ad-hoc way.

Earnings management and cultural values

Using theory and empirical data from social psychology to measure for cultural differences between countries, we study the effect of individualism as defined by Hofstede (1980) and egalitarianism as defined by Schwartz (1994, 1999, 2004) on earnings management. We find a significant influence of both cultural measures. In line with Licht et al. (2004), who argue that individualistic societies may be less susceptible to corruption, we find that countries scoring high on individualism tend to have lower levels of earnings management. In addition, we find that egalitarianism, defined as a society's cultural orientation with respect to intolerance for abuses of market and political power, is negatively related with earnings management. Our results are robust to different specifications and controls. The main message of this paper is that besides formal institutions, cultural differences are relevant to explain earnings management behaviour. We think that our work adds to the understanding of the importance of cultural values in managerial behaviour across countries contributing to the literature on earnings management and law and institutions.

Prise en charge par le praticien des infections après transplantation d'organes solides [Management of infection after organ transplantation by the primary care physician]

The primary care physician is frequently consulted in first line for infectious complications in organ transplant recipients. Many infections without signs of severity can nowadays be managed on an outpatient basis. However, a number of clinical situations specific to transplant recipients may require special attention and knowledge. In particular, the general practitioner must be aware of the potential interactions between immunosuppressive and antimicrobial therapies, the risk of renal dysfunction as a consequence of diarrhea or urinary tract infection, and the diagnostic of CMV disease as a cause of fever without obvious source occurring several months after transplantation. Collaboration with the transplantation specialists is recommended in order to assure an optimal management of these patients.

Health Impact Assessment and Waste Management with particular reference to Incineration: An introductory paper

This introductory brief has been written as a response to a request for information on HIA and waste management, with particular reference to incineration. EU legislation forms the basis for much of Irish waste management policy. Waste Management – Taking Stock and Moving Forward (2004) sets targets for increased prevention and minimisation, encourages reuse and gives preference to recovery and recycling, which is in line with the EU’s Sixth Environmental Action Plan (2002). In the area of waste incineration, the Waste Incineration Directive (2000/76/EC) has been transposed into Irish law and sets operating requirements for the incineration of waste.